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ROLAND GARROS

May 29, 2017

Samantha Stosur

Paris, France

S. STOSUR/K. Kucova

7-5, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Sam, please.

Q. Congrats on winning in Strasbourg and also getting a first round win here. How tough was it to just come over and be ready from the get-go and having just 48 hours to prepare for the tournament?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yeah, it wasn't, obviously, the easiest necessarily preparation going into a Grand Slam, but on the other hand winning a title and winning five matches in a row is awesome preparation.

So I guess lucky that Strasbourg is pretty close and we all jumped on the same train together and got here as quickly as we could. But it was still definitely a very quick turnaround given, you know, the length and the toughness of the match I played against Dasha just on Saturday.

But all in all, I'm really happy with the way I played today and through to the second round.

Q. So yeah, physically you felt fine. I think Dasha said earlier that she really felt her legs in her match earlier today. But you didn't have that issue, obviously?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yeah, I mean, I guess all in all it was a good performance from me. But certainly yesterday I was feeling pretty tired and had a pretty low-key hit with Ash Barty yesterday and tried to just get myself going.

And yeah, today it was just all right, just focus on the match at hand. This is, you know, you've got to concentrate for, you know, a couple of hours and that's it, then you can switch off.

And yeah, that's all that I was kind of focused on was just trying the best I could today and be as energized and up for it as what was possible.

Q. Do you enjoy people talking about you as a potential winner here this year given your form and your history?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yeah. I mean, I guess nobody was until Sunday, but...

Q. They were before.
SAMANTHA STOSUR: They were?

No, look, that's a great thing. I think that's a good position to be in. I've, obviously, had great results here in the past. It's a surface that I enjoy playing on. And even up until last week I still felt like I was playing well throughout the clay season and was getting better and better as the weeks were going on, and I guess I proved that to myself last week.

Look, it's a good position to be in.

Q. I saw you sent your first tweet in the whole year earlier this week, sort of supporting Casey Dellacqua and her tweet about that. What made you decide to voice support for her there and just generally your thoughts on the controversy that's sort of reignited the last week or so?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yeah. It's been pretty fiery. Look, I think everyone can have their own opinion. I don't agree with Margaret's opinion. Obviously, that's why, you know, Casey was, obviously, very adamant about that, and I wanted to support my friend and that's why I sent out my first tweet in a very long time.

And look, it's just not something that I agree with. I think we definitely should have it in Australia. And yeah, I just was trying to support for my friend.

Q. Richel Hogenkamp was in here earlier. I don't know if you know her. Earlier she was saying that she could understand, she has a girlfriend herself, and could understand players being uncomfortable playing on an arena named after Margaret Court. There's been other calls to possibly rename it or at least consider renaming it. Would you support those efforts or those conversations?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: I think that's a bit -- I find it very hard to believe that it would ever be changed, but the court's named Margaret Court Arena because of what she did in tennis, and that's why basically.

So like I said, I think everyone can have their opinion. I don't agree with it, but I guess we'll cross that bridge when we all get down to the Australian Open next year and who wants to play on Margaret Court Arena and who doesn't and we'll go from there.

Q. Do you think that maybe the sort of Aussie sweep last week in Strasbourg was the right kind of, not answer anything, but just a good thing to say, hey, we do really well on court, great in doubles, an Aussie final in singles, and maybe not wash over the controversy but make a statement for tennis in Australia right now?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Obviously, it was big news in Australia and around the world, and then we kind of made our own news by having a great week together. I mean, all week we supported each other. We had quite a few dinners all together as a big group. It was lots of fun. And yeah, just got behind each other. And then unfortunately, Dasha had to play Ash and myself during the event.

But look, at the end it was a great week for all of us, obviously. It was a really great thing for us Aussies coming from Australia getting out on the clay and doing really well.

Q. You're extremely successful against Slovak players during your career. Did you think about it before the match?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: No, I didn't but now I remember you were telling me all my good records against Slovaks at Fed Cup last year.

Q. And maybe one more. First time against Dominika and she consider you her nightmare because you beat her like five times before. What was different in that match a few month ago when Dominika beat you?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Well, I mean, she played it very well. I already played a three-setter in the morning so that probably didn't help. So I'll give myself a pat on the back for that.

But no, look, she played very well. She obviously had a fantastic year last year she won the finals. And, you know, was Top 5 or 6 in the world. So she's, obviously, improved her tennis and she played a very good match against me that day.

But yeah, we'll see what happens next time we play.

Q. I don't think your next opponent has been decided yet, but how do you match up against those two?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: I don't think I have ever played Mandy and Flipper, we haven't played for a very long time. So I know we've played on grass. But like I said, it's been a long time since I played against her. I probably know more about her than what I do about Mandy, but Josh is out there now watching so I'm sure he'll have a bit of feedback and we can discuss a few things tomorrow in practice.

Q. Where do you go from here? Do you have time to settle in having rushed to get here for your first and then you're getting into a bit more of a routine?
SAMANTHA STOSUR: Yeah, I hope so. I'm looking forward to just getting back to where I'm staying and going out for dinner and not feeling all frantic. Got to go here, practice, get your badge, get your clothes, do all that stuff. So it will be nice to have kind of a bit more of a chill-out day tomorrow and then obviously be ready for my next match.

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